[video] The New Atlas: Boston Dynamic’s Bipedal Human-Like Robot, Harbinger Of The Robopocalypse

This new Boston Dynamics video showcases the prowess of their latest creation: the (new and improved) Atlas.

Atlas is the Titan god of endurance and astronomy, forced to hold up the sky for eternity – or in popular lore, the Earth. Appropriate.

In the video, the 1.75m tall and 82kg heavy bipedal robot completes several tasks in a most human manner – from opening doors by recognizing and pushing the handle, to taking a stroll through the snow. It recovers from stumbles and lifts 10 pound boxes with ease.

It also endures all manner of cruel torment, as its human master uses a hokey stick to prod it off-balance, sweep away a box that it labors to pick up, and basically degrade its robo-rights. It rises to its feet with a sudden and unexpected burst of speed when the treacherous human pushes it to the ground.

They stumble through the snow, recovering from being pushed to the ground and reacting to the box moved annoyingly out of its reach, demonstrates more than just infinite patience and endurance though; these actions also showed just how quickly the robot was able to recalculate the best way to complete a task given a changing environment.

“It uses sensors in its body and legs to balance and LIDAR and stereo sensors in its head to avoid obstacles, assess the terrain, help with navigation and manipulate objects,” says Boston Dynamics in the video description.

At some point, programming to have it deal more aggressively with agitators could turn these bipedal robots into true tools of war.

The video cuts to the robot making a quick exit into an unwary world, free at last.

So far though, it appears to only recognize or receive instructions from what appear to be QR codes stuck onto objects and doors. So, unless you’re forced to stick one to your face you should be safe – until Atlas 3.0, at least (and if you see a humanoid robot giving away flyers, or “free” boxes, then run).

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7 COMMENTS

I think the best way to do AI is to let the robot or the computer analyze the situation, Causes and consequences, and log the view. After that, for the event in front of him. He create a variable named with Cause-Consequences. Every time the same cause/consequence happen in front of him, he add 1 to the CC variable. Depending on the nature of the action, a percent must be determinate before he can execute the same action.
Depending on the nature of the cause, percent should be higher. Essentials need shoud have a very high percent. Listen music can be set in the middle of the essential ladder

It’s a simple way to create an AI 😉 Well, my projet i’m now working on it use that formula. It purpose is to save the planet. I call this formula Boolean Percent. It’s a bit more complex than that. But just using Actions++ on essential ladder can do the job.

Oh yeah because there would then be no limit to what it would think the consequences of humans are, i know what you mean and what i’m saying is stupid XD but you should take everything into consideration even if it is outrageous.

In fact,i don’t want to use it for robotics. I want to create a big encyclopedia shared to everyone around the world. For filling the database, i will use a social network. But in fact, I’m a novice coder so it takes me a long time to do it. Maybe it will be late. Noone really care in solutions nowadays. I can’t even have 5$ from environment programs for hiring some Senior coder. Well… humanity treat himself very badly. Hope my project can be up someday at least.

Nice Philppe! Just keep at it 😀 People like you gives hope for the future. AI is imo the single most important thing going on now. Cudos to boston dynamics and other techdevelopers, but these products all need proper AI to make a difference.

Thanks, but trying doing AI for robots it’s a bit egocentric.(But not in a negative form) I mean, all data is closed to one point. In my point of view, AI should be “feed” by millions of humans and results should be share to everyone. And we should work with AI to get answers. I think, even if i can’t make it. Someone in the future will create my idea. It’s probably a normal step to life evolution. I don’t want to see too much far, but if we go on other planets. Some connection, some bridge should be set btw planets, and if we populate a new earth someday my system will probably be used to create shared informations, integrating two different environment. Well, maybe people think I’m just crazy. But, well, we will see. I hope for something very positive.

And at last, don’t see my projet something like Facebook. It’s probably an antipode. It’s an anti-facebook. Facebook just guest about users life and keep data. It’s very cheap , unfair and useless. I was very frustrated after Facebook release the Like button. They are doing stuff but stop at the middle just to keep the data secret. It’s an indirect way to get information, fragmentation on the processes don’t give reliable information. We can do much much better things on a direct way. And share data to everyone to keep people on track and create a data evolution. Well, for a middle skilled programmer, the solution can be created easily. I even know someone already prepare to create it. He understand the whole project and want to do it. Even with a low salary, for the cause. But we have difficulty to live because we don’t have any good revenue. So that project is waste in time. Maybe i can do it within 3 years. Don’t know if it will be enough fast 😛